Outlet control for liquid containers



April 1s, 1933. L, LAVOIE 1,904,793

OUTLET CONTROL FOR LIQUID CONTAINERS Filed April 2, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet' 1 Z6 f/l.

' ATTORNEY April 1s, 1933. 1 LAVOIE 1,904,793

OUTLET CONTROL FOR LIQUID CONTAINERS Filed April 2, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hill'l 34 llllllv ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 18, 1933 yLouis LAvoIE, on QUBEC, QUEBEC,` CANADA i `(Jirrfrnn'r common roza mQiIIn'coNrAINERs Apiaication mea AApril 2;

Thisinvention relates` generally to an outlet control device for liquid containers, Vand comprehends adevicel of this character vby virtue of which the withdrawal ofthe entire 5 contents cannot be effected Withutrnotification by the necessity ofmanually' releasing a predeterminedemergency quantity which is automatically` reserved by thedevice until renderedl available by said manual release.

lo The present invention is applicable to various fields but is particularly desirable in c0nnectionywith liquidv fuel tanks'on motor vehicles, air or Watercraft or the like, where it is Nespecially designed, to direct attentionto the fact that ythe fuel supply requires replenishment when the same reaches a predetermined low level in the tank;

The invention broadly aims to provide a device for controlling the tank outlet in such a manner as ,to reserve a portion of tliecontents, which is rendered available only by manual release after that portion of the contentsabovel the' predetermined reserve quantity has been'exhausted. y A I 5 The invention further aimsjtcpro'vide in a device of the character indicated, means for automaticallyeifecting a resetting of the de'- vice uponrefilling of the tank or container, to preclude any possibility of a subsequent' failure ofthe reservation of the emergency SUpplya i t y As a still further object,vthe invention resides in the provision of a device of theindicatedv character, in which useis made cfa valve normally closed by the buoyancyof theliquid so as to reserve a 'predetermined emergency 'level in a' container, with manually operable means for opening said valve means operable by the buoyancy of the liquid to `initially lock the valve open and `to subsewithdrawing the emergency supply, the refilling of the container functioning to reclosel the `valve ,to insure a subsequent reserva-tion of the emergency supply.

The invention further embodies in a device 5U of the character set forth, a ioat operable by the buoyancy of the liquid to effect the closto render said reservedsupply available and i932," seal N0. 602,891."`

ing of the valve andtoaeffect theinitial lock-` ing of the valvegin open position when manually opened, together with means embraced bythe ;valv i"str`ucture functioning'to "close y thel valve in evento'fleakage of the float, to` 55' insure' the trapping" or reservation of anv emergency supply. f f The invention furtherfaims to provide a device of the indicated character which4 is comparatively simple in its construction and mode `of'operation,'which is inexpensive to, produceand' install and which is'thoroughlyf reliablefand highly eflicientin its purpose. f,

Withthe above, recited and other objects y. in "view, reference is had to thefollowing descriptionv and accompanying drawings, in which there is exhibited `one example crembodiment of the invention, while the claims define the actual scope'of the same. f i i `In7`the drawings: 'y i f 70 f Figure l,v` is a fragment'ary` `vertical sec# tional view "through a storagev tank or con-5' tainer. forliquid fuel or other lcontents equipped With a "control devi ceV constructed in accordance with theinvention, and illustratingfthesame in av position to tra or reserve an emergency supply in the tan v Figure 2 is asimilar 4view illustrating the device actuated'to lock the valve in opened condition, to render the emergency supply available. f "z f "Y Figure 3 is asimilar view illustrating thev valveimmediately after therelease of the lockingmeans and the'gravitational retention of the valve in open condition. 85 Figure tis a plan view. of the 'controh device.`I` i f y Referringto thel drawings, by characters ofreference, 'A designates a storage tank Y forliquid fuel or an equivalent liquidwhich is `drawn olf from appoint adjacent the bot# tom, ltheoutletin thepresent instance consisting of the vopen lower endB'of afeed pipe C whic y eXtends through the top 0f thetanl. p i i ".The device for controlling the outlet B consists ofa casing designated generally by the reference :character v5, Whichcasing is formed,V with fvert'ic'ally` spaced' upper and lower inlets 6' and 7 the former being pref- 100 erably defined by the upper open end of a standpipe 8 which may be vertically adjusted with respect to the casing 5, if desired. In the present instance, the feed pipe C for drawing off the contents of the tank extends downwardly through the standpipe 8, with its lower outlet end B located adjacent the bottom; of the casing 5. The lower inlet 7 is formed with frusto-conical valve seats 9 and 10, the former fiaring downwardly and outwardly and the latter flaring upwardly and outwardly. lA valve 11 is provided for the valve seat 9 and is designed to `engage on the seat upon upward movement for closing the lower inlet 7. The' valve 11 is provided with an upwardly extending stem 12 which isv guided vertically through a bearing boss 13 formed on the casing 5.y The portion ofthevalve stem 12 which protrudes above theboss 13 is provided with upper and lower transversely projecting pins 14 and 15, suitably spaced apart to accommodate therebetween the arm 16 of a float 177 which float-is preferably in the nature of a hollow the tank VA, which level is determined the height of the standpipe- 8. Inother words,

fluid tight ball. The arm 16 is journaled on a fulcrum 18 on the casing 5 and the float is normally buoyed upwardly, as illustrated in Figure 1, by the liquid vD in the tank A, whereby the arm engages with theupper pin 14 and seats the valve 11 to close the lower inlet 7 of the casing 5. This obviously functions to trap or maintain an; emergency level of the fluid D in the bottom of the liquid D may bedrawn off by the feed pipe C until the level recedes to a plane coincident with the upper open end of the standpipe 8 defining the inlet6 to the casingu 5. Inorder to provide means forfrendering the emergency supply of the liquid -D avail,- able, amechanism is provided for unseating the valve 11 from its seat 9 to open the lower inlet 7 and said mechanism consists of a ro'ckable element or lever 20 whichis journaled on a fulcrum 21 at a side of the casingy 5. rlhe lever is formed with a terminal 22y and upper and lower .furcations 23 and 24. A manipulatingV rod 25 connects with the terminal. 22 and .extends upwardly and slidably through the top of the tank A, where it is provided with a head or knob 26. The

furcation- 23 is formedwith an under cam face 27 which is designed upon upward pull l exerted on the knobV 26 to engage withv and cam the upper pin 14 downwardly against the buoyancy of the float 17 to unseat the valve 11 from its seat 9 to open the lower inlet 7. The under side of the furcation 23 is Vfurther provided with a locking notch 28, which after downward movement of the valve stem 12 and opening of the valve receives the upper pin 14 and locks the valve open due to a binding action setup between the pin 14 and notch 28 by the upward stress .lower pin 15 of the valve stem 12, moving'y the valve 11v further downwardly, releasing Vthe upper pin 14 from the locking notch 28 and thus engaging with a laterally disposed stop pin 29 on thelower furcation 24 of the lever 20.

The weight of the ioat 17, the floatarm 16 and the lower furcation 24 now precisely counterbalances the remaining portion of the lever 2() and the manipulating roda-nd knob 26 so that the valve 11 is retainedvun-r seated while the liquid D is being drawn olii'A from the tank through the lower inletof the casingV 5. It thus followsvthatwhen liquid is again supplied to the tank A, the fioat 17 will move upwardly, thereby seating the valve 11 on its seat r9 and reclosing.

the lower inlet 7, the initial lifting of the float from the stop pin 29 permitting theY preponderance of the weight on the lever 20 on the left of the fulcrum 21 to return the lever and the manipulating rod and knob to its normal position shown in Figure 1.

From the foregoing, it will thus` be seen that a control device has been devised which insures the automatic reservation of a supply y quantity of liquid inthe tank A which can onlv be made availablev by manual release by pulling upwardly on the knob 26 so as to 1ndicate the necessity of replenishing the liquid in the tank while providing an emergency supply available after the indication hasbeen given. It will also be observed that the device automatically resets the' device for reserving the emergency supply withoutrelying upon the necessity of manual resetting. In order to provide means for preventing` failure of the device in event leakage develops in the float 17 the valve stem 12 is provided with a second valve 30 normallyspaced on the stem above the valve `11. In event of leakage developing, it is apparentthatthe float 17 will sink, thereby engaging the floatarm 16 with the lower pin 15 of the valve stem 12 and normally seating` the upper valve 30 on'the upper seat 10 of the lower .inlet7 to normally close said lower inlet. VItxthus.

follows that when the liquid in the tank A reaches an emergency level somewhatfbelow the upper. end of the standpipe 8, the qua-ntity thus reserved will be rendered available after notice by exerting avdownwardthrust on the knob 26, which it will be foundhas been raised by the sinking of the float and the engagement of the float arm16 with the stop pin 29.

As illustrated, the casing 5 is formed with a side outlet 3l and a bottomoutlet 32, respectively closed by plugs 33 and 34. This illustration is for the purpose of demonstrating that the liquid may be withdrawn optionally from said outlets instead of through the outlet B and feed pipe C, as, for instance, where it is desired to draw off the liquid by gravity.

While there has been illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, no limitation is intended to the precise structural details, as it is to be understood that variations and modifications which properly fall within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to when found expedient.

What is claimed is:

l.k The combination lwith a liquid container having an outlet adjacent its bottom, of a device for controlling said outlet, including a valve normally closed by the buoyancy of the liquid to reserve a portion of the contents at a predetermined emergency level in the container, manually operable means for opening said valve to render said reserved liquid available, means operable by the buoyancy of the liquid to initially lool: the valve open, to subsequently gravitationally release the lock and to retain the valve open gravitationally.

2. A device for maintaining an emergency liquid level in a reservoir having an outlet adjacent its bottom, said device including a valve casing surrounding the outlet, said casing having a constantly open inlet adjacent the top and a normally closed inlet adjacent the bottom adapted to be manually opened for permitting withdrawing of the reserved supply.

3. A device for maintaining an emergency liquid level in a reservoir having an outlet adjacent its bottom, said device including a valve casing surrounding the outlet, said casing having a constantly open inlet adjacent the top and a normally closed inlet adjacent the bottom adapted to be manually opened for permitting withdrawing of the reserved supply and means for automatically reclosing the-bottom inlet when the reservoir is refilled. f

4. A device for maintaining an emergency liquid level in a reservoir having an outlet adjacent its bottom, said device including a valve casing surrounding the outlet, said casing having a constantly open inlet adjacent the top, an inlet adjacent the bottom of the casing, a valve for said bottominlet, means operable by the buoyancy of the liquid for closing the valve, manually operable means for opening the valve to render the emergency supply available and means for automatically resetting the device and reclosing the valve when the reservoir is refilled.

5. A device for controlling the withdrawal of liquid fromfa container," includinga member defining' achamber having la pair of* vertically spaced inlets, the upper of which inlets isconstantly open', a! valve for thelower inlet',` a float operativelyA connected with thevalve for seating the sameand closing the lower inlet to reserve la 'predetermined emergency level in the container,"man ually operable mechanism' 4for 1 'unseating the valvefto render the reserved liquidavailable; said -mechanism including la Ifulcrum element",v cooperativel means on the valve and said element functioning upon unseating'of the valve'to initially engagewith `and lock the-'valve open by buoyancy Of'theeat and subsequently gravitationally zdisengageable by the weight ofthe lioat when the 'level recedes.v if l Y 6.A device for controlling the withdrawal of liquid from a container', including a member defining zt/chamber having :a pair of vertically spaced inlets, `theupperr of which inlets is constantlyV open,a" valvefor the lowerV inlet, a float operatively connect'- ed with'the valve for seating the same and closingwthe lower inlet to reserve a predej termined'emergency level in the container, manually operable mechanism for` unseating the valve to render the reserved liquidavailable, `said mechanism including' afulcrum element, cooperative means on the valveand said element functioning upon unseating of the valve to initially engage with and lock` the valve open by buoyancy of the float and means on said element cooperating with the ioat to continue to hold the valve open by gravity as the level recedes.

7 The combination with a liquid container having an outlet adjacent its bottom, of a deviceV for controlling said outlet comprising a valve casing having a permanently open upper inlet and Vhaving a lower inlet, a valve for closing the lower inlet, a float operatively connected with the valve to seat the same and close the lower inlet to reserve a portion of the contents below the level of the upper inlet, manually operableV means for unseating the valve, a detent initially operable by the buoyancy of the float to lock the valve in unseated position until the level said detent being gravitationally releasable upon subsequent recession of the fluid level and said valve being then retained open by the weight of the float. Y

8. The combination with aliquid container having an outlet adjacent its bottom, of a device for controlling said outlet comprising a valve casing having a permanently open' upper inlet and having alower inlet, a valve for closing the lower inlet, a float operatively connected with the valve to seat the same and close the lower inlet to reserve a'portion 1 ing the valve, a detent initially operable by the buoyancy of the float to lock the valve in unseated position'until the level of the reserved portion, of the liquid recedes, said detent being gravitationally releasable upon subsequent recession of the fluid level and said valve being then retained open by thev weight ofthe loat and reclosed by reillingof the container. Y

9. The combination with a liquid Container havingY an outlet adjacent its bottom, Aof a device for controlling said outlet, comprising a valve easingy having a permanently open upper inlet and having a lower inlet, a valve for closing the-lower inlet,`a, oat operatively eonneeted'with the valve to seat the saine and close the lower inlet to reServe a portion of the contents below the level of the :upper inlet, manually operable means for unseatingthe valve7 a detent initially operable by the buoyancy of the float to lock the valve in unseated position until the level of the reserved portion of the liquid' reeedes, said detent being gravitationally releasable upon subsequent recession of the fluid llevel and said valve being then 'retained open` by the weight of the float and reelosed by reilling of the container, a Vsecond valve for said lower inlet and means cooperating with the float in event 4of leakage for closing said second valve.

LOUIS LAVOYIE. 

